Chapter 3: Well this blew up...
When you were partying, I studied Explosion. When you were crossing the final frontier, I blew up a castle. While you wasted your days mastering skills in pursuit of vanity, I put even MORE points in Explosion. And now that the world is on fire and the Devil King is at the gate you have the audacity to come to me for help?
-Megumeme, Arch Troll of the xXxCrimson69Demon420ClanxXx
The Panier Inn was a cozy place, with floors made of wood polished by generations of feet walking over it, with old battered tables and low benches. It was decorated with the heads of several local monsters, from a large looking lizard thing with a horn on its snout to the head of a bird that had to have been enormous, considering it's head was as big as Izuku's torso with a wicked beak. There was a roaring hearth and a well stocked bar with a variety of wines and fine ales, and the food that was offered, while simple, was tasty and rather filling.
Currently, Izuku was sitting with a glass of watered wine, nibbling at some goat cheese and picking at a quiche with wild mushrooms and nuts mixed in. He was watching as dozens of villagers had eagerly lined up as Aqua healed them of various infirmities, from head colds to even missing limbs, all the while proclaiming the virtues of the Axis Faith.
"You see, in the Axis Church, our tenants are very simple," Aqua lectured to her adoring new converts. "You should enjoy life, and love one another, for life is hard and you could die tomorrow, so why worry about it?"
Even the local priest had immediately declared himself willing to follow the Axis Faith upon seeing the miracles that Aqua was performing. Once he'd converted, she'd somehow empowered him to begin performing feats of magic himself, from causing water to spurt forth from his hands using "Nature's Beauty" to being able to do minor healing spells.
It would have been a lot more impressive, except for the frankly insane sermon Aqua insisted on delivering. "No matter who or what you love, I, Aqua, Goddess of Water, accept you. Be you lolicon, yaoi fan, or have a brother complex, the Axis church believes that all love is good."
Good grief.
"Yes, Lady Aqua," the enchanted villagers agreed, and a weeping mother came forward, carrying a wooden box.
"My baby, he died of the pox a day ago, can you possibly-"
"Resurrection!" Aqua proclaimed, and opened the box to reveal a cooing healthy infant. The mother wept, bowing low before Aqua as her husband set down an offering of wine at Aqua's feet. "Bringing the dead back to life is a simple feat for a Goddess like me. Just no one who died of old age, they'll just croak again. And if it's been more than a day or so no luck there either, soul's moved on. But everything else is easy!"
"Incredible," Count Blois breathed as he sat down on the bench next to Izuku. He was a man in his middle years, going bald and grey, but had the look of a hardened campaigner. Apparently, it was the job of the local noble to keep the village safe, and while Count Blois employed a Free Mage and two knights, he and his two sons fought with swords in hand to protect their people. He was well liked and respected by the villagers from what Izuku could tell. "Truely, she must be the Goddess Aqua! I had not thought the Old Religion so potent, and yet…"
"Um, yeah, she's something else," Izuku agreed. The healing was impressive, and the resurrection was unreal, but honestly it wasn't all that different from a powerful quirk so Izuku didn't see what the fuss was about. Couldn't they tell Aqua was a spoiled child?
Blois turned to Izuku, smiling in contentment. Despite the man's scarred and battered face and the chunk missing out of his nose, he managed to look genial and pleasant. He tugged at his long, waxed mustache, twirling it in his fingers. "So, tell me young man, are you also some sort of messenger from the divine realm?"
"Me? Um, no, I was, er, a student at a school for heroes, in a land called Japan," Izuku explained.
"Ah, yes, the divine realm!" Blois agreed, nodding in understanding. "That is where the Champion of the New Religion, Saint Yeh, is from as well. You must be a powerful warrior or mage."
"Um, kinda. I'm sorta new at this," Izuku admitted. "I don't even have a Hero License yet. Aqua sorta...um, I mean, the Goddess asked me to come help save this world, but we didn't have much time to prepare."
"My boy, here, there is but one requirement to be a hero," Blois said seriously. He suddenly stood, beckoning to Izuku. "Come with me, I know just the thing."
Blois spoke to one of the villagers, a man with broad shoulders and well muscled arms. He nodded, bowing to Izuku. "Come, Lord Midoriya, it will be my honor and privilege to aid you."
"I-I-I'm not a lord!" Izuku protested. "I'm just a highschool student!"
"The High School? That is a fitting name for an institute of the Divine Realm. I am Martel, the village blacksmith."
Martel took Izuku across the village to his workshop, where a forge lay cold and idle. Most of the work Martel seemed to do were simple things, like nails, horseshoes, and farm tools. He ignored all of those, going to a corner and pulling out a locked chest. Taking a key from his belt, the blacksmith carefully opened it, and withdrew a long object wrapped in oiled rags. Removing the rags, Martel revealed a simple western style hand-and-a-half sword with a leather grip.
"It is not much, but I humbly offer it to you, Lord Midoriya," Martel said, bowing and proffering the sword to Izuku.
Izuku looked to Blois, who nodded. "The only requirement to become a hero is to take up the sword, and vow to keep the people safe from harm. It is not a storied blade or one made of enchanted materials, but I hope this weapon can aid you and Lady Aqua in some small fashion."
Izuku took up the sword, finding it to be surprisingly light, no more than a few kilos in weight. "Th-thank you, um, Mr. Martel, Lord Blois. I, um, I'll try to use it to save everyone, with a smile on my face!" Izuku managed a grin, which seemed to please the two older men. "But, er I don't know how to use a sword."
"It is very simple," Martel laughed. "You stick them before they stick you!"
"You do not know the blade?" Blois asked, surprised. "My father taught me from when I was a child. Hmm. My son, Anton, he could help you. He is my youngest, and about your age I should guess. Er, that is, he is about 15 summers."
"Oh, yes, I'm 15," Izuku agreed hastily. "I can-"
In the distance, Izuku heard a faint, echoing boom, like thunder. As Izuku watched, a towering mushroom cloud lifted into the sky.
"It seems you will have need of that blade at once, Midoriya. Come! To arms!" Blois bellowed, racing out into the street. "Marie! Anton! Sir Jacques!"
"Aqua!" Izuku shouted. "More monsters!"
Aqua strutted out of the Panier, bearing that odd staff of hers and practically preening at the cheers and applause from the villagers.
"Go, Lady Aqua, we have faith in you!"
"Our Goddess shall save us!"
Along with Aqua came Sir Jacques, a young knight armed with a long spear and a sword at his side, dressed in mail and plate. The Count's son Anton was there as well, bearing an unstrung longbow and a sword of his own. Marie the Freemage was clad in leather armor and had a dagger and some sort of glass orb. She was older, about the same age as Blois, and had been in his employ for some years. The Count's older son and knight were off on a patrol of the countryside, and wouldn't be back for some days.
Izuku felt grossly underprepared, until Martel ran out with a mail hauberk for him.
"This looks to be about your size, my lord. I apologize I have nothing better, but time is of the essence," Maretl said, helping Izuku put on the mail shirt. It was a bit loose and came down to about midthigh, but it was better than nothing Izuku supposed.
"Wow, do you have the Medium Armor skill?" Aqua asked Izuku as he hurried up to her. "And the Sword Skill! You must have gotten a lot of levels from killing that lich!"
"Um, I don't think so?" Izuku said, feeling confused. Two villagers hurried up to them with horses, which Izuku looked at uncertainly.
"Ha! Finally, travel style fit for a goddess!" Aqua declared, then tried to scramble into the saddle. She clearly had no idea what she was doing, and the girl who had brought her horse had to give Aqua a boost to get her into the seat.
"Um, I don't know how to ride. I'll just run, I'm pretty fast," Izuku told the other girl. "Thanks, though."
"Come!" Count Blois called, already mounted and having found time to don light armor himself. "Let us ride to battle!"
"Alright! Giddyup!" Aqua ordered, flicking her reigns. The horse wickered, then looked back at her. "Hi ho Silver! Away!"
The horse snorted, and bent to crop at some grass.
"Um, Aqua, maybe you should walk too?" Izuku suggested. "Have you ever ridden a horse before?"
"Well no, but I thought it would just know what to do," she admitted. She hopped down, looking irritated. "Fine! I don't need some stupid animal to go into battle! First, Blessing!"
A warm feeling washed over Izuku as Aqua put her hand on him. She ran over and did the same for the other members of the party, who bowed and offered thanks.
"Right, let's do this"! Aqua declared, shadow boxing and grinning. "Time to show the power of a goddess!"
Izuku broke into a run, heading off towards the distant towering column of smoke and dust. He found he was able to tap into One For All, just a little, and was easily able to keep up with the horses. Aqua, on the other hand, was gasping for breath in less than a minute, and a bewildered Anton had to turn back to help her into the saddle behind him.
"Goddess...don't...do...cardio," Aqua gasped. "We're...too...divine…"
Then she vomited onto the ground, apparently having partaken a bit too much in the offerings of wine given to her. To Izuku's amazement, it came out as a sweet smelling rainbow.
"Um, as you say, milady," Anton said nervously. He glanced at Izuku, who had barely broken a sweat as he ran along the galloping horses. "I take it you, er, do this 'cardio,' Lord Midoriya?"
"I'm not a Lord," Izuku told him. "But yes, I do a 5k run every morning before school, and endurance training three times a week."
"Ah, yes, I train daily as well," Anton agreed. "It is the duty of a lord."
They hadn't gone far until Izuku spotted a strange figure racing towards them over the hills. At first he thought it was some horribly deformed creature, until he realized it was actually two people, one carrying the other on her back.
"Hatsume!" Izuku cried excitedly, recognizing his school mate by her goggles and pink hair. "And it looks like she's rescued someone! Aqua, I think they might be hurt!"
"Uggghhh," Aqua groaned. "Make it stop, make the horse stop moving so weird, I'm gonna-BLLAAAGGGHHHH!"
Izuku shied away from the splatter as Aqua vomited again. "Er, I'll take care of it," Izuku promised, then hurried ahead, out pacing the horses. He was surprised at his sudden control of One For All, and wondered if it had something to do with what Aqua had done to him. "Hatsume! It's me, Midoriya!"
"Midoriya?! What are you doing here?" Hatsume demanded, coming to a halt a few meters away. "Never mind. Did you see that explosion?! That was pretty impressive! I'm going to learn how to make babies that can do the same thing, with the help of my new friend!"
The rumpled girl on Mei's back looked up from beneath her floppy black hat, which had two buttons sewed onto it that looked sort of like red eyes. Her own eyes were crimson, and she grinned at Izuku. "That was just a taste of my incredible Explosion magic! For I am the Dark Goddess of Destruction, she who will Master Explosion, and create a-"
"Ugghhh, Megumin, stop yelling so loud," Aqua whined, slipping off the horse and crumpling to the ground. "Stupid horses."
"A-Aqua?!" Megumin gasped, jerking back and causing Hatsume to fall over on top of her.
"My lady!" Anton cried, dropping down to help Aqua sit up. "Are you well?"
"I'll be better after I knock some sense into my idiot friend," Aqua growled, standing and stalking over to disentangle Megumin from Hatsume. She grabbed the girl by the ear, shaking her. "What are you doing here!? You're supposed to be judging souls back in the divine realm! I should have known you'd be responsible for that explosion! What, did a rock look at you funny?!"
"Ow, ow, ow, Aqua, stop!" Megumin pleaded, pointing behind her. "No, it wasn't a rock this time, there were some really strong undead! Look, there's more of them coming!"
Izuku spun, and sure enough, two undead warriors like those that had attacked him and Aqua earlier were moving towards them at an awkward run. They were both missing bits, but were still mobile despite it.
"I killed hundreds of them with my Explosion, but these two got away," Megumin claimed.
"What? There were at most twelve, I counted!" Hatsume said, dusting herself off and standing. She was wearing her signature goggles and the same tracksuit that Izuku had on, but her smile was all her own manic self confidence.
"Oh of course there were," Aqua grumbled.
"Be ready! These are beasts most foul!" Blois called.
Anton quickly strung his bow and fired an arrow, but it clattered harmlessly off of one of the skeleton's ribs. Marie raised her orb and chanted, and a first sized ball of fire shot out, slapping into the other skeleton. It staggered, but stood and kept on coming.
"What kind of lame magic is that?" Aqua demanded. "This is how you do it. Turn Undead!"
Blinding blue light enveloped the skeletons, and with a groan they were turned to dust. Aqua flipped her long hair over her shoulder, grinning widely. "See? That's how a goddess handles things!"
"Incredible," Marie gasped, her hand clutching her chest. "I have rarely seen such powerful feats of magic, and never from a lone practitioner!"
"Pfff, that was something a simple priest could have done," Aqua said dismissively. She winked at Marie. "If I were really serious, then you'd see something! But low level minions like that are hardly worth the effort."
Izuku went over to Hatsume, who was grinning maniacally as she looked around. "Um, so I guess you came here to save the world too?"
"What? No, I came here to help create the most amazing babies the world has ever seen! Did you know I managed to make an explosion so big it almost destroyed the world and ripped a hole in space time!?" Mei asked excitedly.
"Yes, it was the most incredible thing I have ever seen," Megumin sighed, clutching at the staff on the ground next to her. "One day, I shall master Explosion magic to the degree that Mei has, and unleash it!"
Izuku felt more than slightly concerned at that, but bent down to offer the strange new girl a hand up. "Um, need some help?"
"Sorry to bother you, but could you carry me?" Megumin said, blushing slightly and averting her gaze. "I sort of used up all my MP on my Explosion earlier and can't walk now."
"Um, OK?" Izuku said, wondering just what the heck MP was. He gently scooped Megumin up in his arms. She wasn't that heavy really; she looked like she was just an average high schooler herself, except for her weird scarlet eye patch and robes, which really just made it look like she was wearing a hero costume. Especially since when she removed the patch, Izuku saw both of her eyes were just fine.
"Well, I guess at least I'll have some help defeating the Lord of the Tomb now," Aqua sighed. She smiled at Megumin, her earlier irritation forgotten. "It's good to see you, Megumin! I'm surprised you were so desperate to start adventuring again, but I guess I should have known you'd be interested in that big bang."
"Well, I will miss getting to play games all day with Kazuma and Darkness and beating Yunyun at everything, but the world has need of my mastery of magic once more!" Megumin proclaimed as Izuku carried her back towards the village.
"Um, are these girls divine heroes as well?" Antone asked, edging his horse close and peering down at Megumin and Hatsume.
"No, I am not in the Hero Course, that is Izuku's job! My job is to make super cute babies, and also help Megumin make another huge explosion!" Hatsume explained.
"Babies? Where is your husband and children?" Antone asked, clearly puzzled.
"She means her inventions, like her goggles," Izuku told Antone. "She, um, she went to school with me. We were er, well, we were participating in a cavalry battle, and then we ended up with Aqua and got sent here…"
"Ah, I see, you must be great warriors then. But I thought you said you did not ride?" Antone asked.
"He was riding me! I am an excellent mount!" Hatsume declared, to Izuku's utter mortification.
"Oh, I see, er, you meant, ah, well, I shall leave you alone then," Antone babbled, going bright red and quickly steering his horse away to where his father and the retainers were following at a respectful distance.
"Wait, she didn't mean-!" Izuku called, feeling hopelessly embarrassed himself. He looked down at Megumin, who was scowling up at him.
"Don't think this is some stupid H game like Kazuma plays where you can get yourself a harem, mister," Megumin lectured. "I might not look it, but I am a Dark Goddess of Explosions! Right, Aqua?"
"I mean, you do help me judge souls, so, sort of?" Aqua mused. "But to be a real goddess, you need worshipers."
"Then I shall start the Cult of Explosions!" Megumin declared. "Hatsume, will you be my high priestess!?"
"I don't know, can high priestess make super cute babies?" Hatsume asked.
"Only if they are for making incredible explosions, or are support items for mages or other heroes for bringing great justice down upon the heads of the wicked! Such is the way of the Crimson Demon Cult!"
Hastume considered this for about half a second. "Hmm, I can still make super cute babies as long as they can make things blow up? Heck, I do that already on accident! Sign me up!"
"Aqua!" Izuku squawked. "You...you're a real goddess! Stop this!"
"Huh? Why?" Aqua asked, frowning. "Oh, you think she'll steal followers from me? Don't worry, they'll still be in my downline."
"Your...downline?" Izuku asked, a sense of dread sending icy fingers down his spine
"Oh yeah, see, I'm a senior goddess. I just recruited Megumin, who was a mortal until I got a hold of her. Any followers she gets automatically give 10% of their offerings and praise to me, plus I get a bonus for having a lesser goddess under me. That is how I got to be a Senior Goddess, after all. I recruited Eris too, way back in the day. Hey! Maybe if I get enough new followers here and a few new gods and goddesses under me, I can get promoted to Elder Goddess! That means I get a free vacation every millenia!"
"E-elder Goddess?" Izuku asked, frowning. "Um, Aqua, this is starting to sound a lot like a pyramid scheme…"
"Pfff, this is nothing like a pyramid scheme. It's just, you know, triangularly shaped," Aqua said, drawing one in the air before her. "Look, it's all very complicated, and not something I expect a mere mortal to comprehend."
"I don't know, my mom sold Avon for a while," Izuku said, shuddering. "It was awful."
"Ha! Those chumps are small time! Stick with me, Izuku! Maybe you can recruit some followers and end up a god someday too!" Aqua declared, putting her arm around Izuku's shoulders and gesturing broadly with her free hand.
"Um, ok," Izuku said, trying to wiggle away. If all gods were like this, Izuku was going to become a dedicated atheist.
"Izuku cannot become a god!" Mei huffed. "He has to become a follower of Megumin!"
"Hey, too late, he's my champion or whatever, so he's automatically a part of the Axis Faith! Go find your own followers," Aqua snapped.
When they got back to the village, it was growing dark. Megumin had fallen asleep in Izuku's arms, much to his discomfort. He placed her in a bed at the Panier, and Izuku went down to eat dinner. Aqua was busy showing off to the villagers, though her sermons were growing increasingly erratic in proportion to how much alcohol she was ingesting.
"Yeh see, it's um, like, super important to purge demons and undead. They're like...hic...so ugly. And they smell? Ever smelled a demon? Dish-gusting!"
Despite the increasing innanity of Aqua's pronouncements, the local priest was feverishly writing down everything she said, and Count Blois and the villagers were hanging on her every word.
After dinner, Izuku decided to look for Hastume, as at least she was somewhat normal. Hatsume wasn't hard to find, thankfully, as she'd made a beeline for Martel's shop after talking to Megumin for a bit. Even now as the stars started to come out, Izuku could see the light of his forge burning brightly. He headed over, hoping to have someone at least a little familiar with home to talk to.
Of course, when he did enter the shop, Izuku froze in the doorway, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. Hatsume was indeed hard at work, but she'd taken off her tracksuit, and was only wearing her goggles, a heavy blacksmith apron, gloves, and her underwear. She was bent over the forge, muttering to herself as she withdrew some glowing metal from it. Izuku was just about to slink away to avoid embarrassment, when she turned and saw him.
"Ah! You! Midoriya, right? Just the person I was hoping to see! You're super muscly, right? Well get in here and help me! I need someone to work the bellows and that other guy ran off somewhere!"
"I, er, um-" Izuku stammered, sweat beading on his brow.
"Oh, too hot for you? Don't worry, you can just put your clothes over there with mine. Here, put on this apron and these gloves! Quickly, it's almost ready!" Hatsume ordered, sticking the metal back in the forge and hurrying over to bodily drag Izuku into the smithy.
The next thing Izuku knew, she'd stripped him out of his track suit, dressed him in a leather apron, and had him working the bellows as she barked out commands.
"Harder, I need more! Damn these primitive materials! How am I supposed to forge proper steel like this?!"
It took all of Izuku's strength and endurance, but he managed to get the forge hot enough to suit Hatsume's needs. She withdrew the metal and placed it on the anvil, banging away a few times to shape it, then sticking it back inside to reheat it, then repeating the process.
"What...what are you making?" Izuku gasped, leaning on the bellows in exhaustion after Hatsume appeared to have finally finished her project. It was still dark out, but the eastern horizon was beginning to lighten.
"We are making super cute babies, obviously! This is merely the beginning of my career! Have you noticed the utter lack of technology here? The very first thing we need to do is build a way to generate electricity! We have made the first part of a steam engine, Midoriya!"
Izuku looked at the various objects that Hatsume had made, but frankly it just looked like random metal parts to him. "Oh. Well, that's, um, good? I think...I think we should sleep now."
"What!? We have barely begun! I've only made some valves and the piston so far! We'll need to manufacture a boiler and cylinder, a water storage tank, and the generator itself with coils of copper wire!" Hatsume said, grinning widely. She pushed up her goggles, making her look a bit like a yellow eyed raccoon, her face was so covered in soot. "Don't you see? We have the chance to invent ALL the super cute babies in this entire world!"
"I thought...I thought you were going to make dynamite or something. You know, for explosions?" Izuku asked, feeling utterly drained.
"Bah! There is no need! Megumin taught me how! Come, I will show you!" Hatsume dragged Izuku outside to the edge of the village. They went a ways outside of town, with Izuku stumbling part of the way, his mind rather numb. When they got to the top of a hill that overlooked an empty field, Hatsume planted her feet, grinning and looking around in satisfaction. "Yes! This is a great place for an explosion!"
"Um, Hatsume? Should we really be standing here? We're not, er, decent," Izuku protested, rubbing his bare arms and flushing. He'd just finally processed that they were both basically in their underwear, having left the aprons and gloves behind.
"Oh, this is going to be more than decent! Now, how did that go again? Bah, I'll just make something up!" Hatsume extended her hands above her head, and began to cackle. "2Cs plus 2H2O to 2CsOH plus H2!"
As Hatsume spoke, glowing rainbow sparks began to fill the air around them. Izuku managed to forget his aches and the situation's awkwardness, smiling at the beautiful display. How was Hatsume doing this? The sparks began to race out over the field, and then collide as glowing circles formed in the air. He frowned as she finished. Wasn't that a cesium oxidation reaction with water? He had just enough time to realize what was happening as the sparks suddenly slammed together in violent burst of raw power.
The massive shockwave slammed into Izuku and Hatsume, and he managed to grab her and shield her from most of the blast. A tower pillar of fire at least 20 meters high lit up the sky as bright as the noon day sun for a brief instant, and Izuku was nearly deafened. Rocks and hunks of earth peppered Izuku's back as he clung to Hatsume. By the time he blinked away the stars in his vision and the ringing in his ears had stopped, all that was left of the valley below them was a smoking crater, and Hatsume was giggling to herself in his arms.
"Oooo, that felt...mmmm. Yes, that was even better than making babies! Pick me up Midoriya, I want to see! How big is the crater? Take me down there, I want to measure it! I need to establish a baseline comparison between my explosions and Megumin's! What do you think, how many tons of TNT was that worth?"
"I'm putting you to bed," Izuku sighed, and slung Hatsume over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "And me, too."
"What? No! I don't have...I don't have time...to...sleep...ooo, I feel...wow. Mmm. Midoriya? Did you know you have lots of muscles? They are very nice."
"Um, thanks?" Izuku squeaked as he hurried back towards the village. Hopefully, no one saw this. Who was he kidding? Hopefully, everyone was terrified, and hiding.
But of course, they were not. Megumin and Aqua were leading the Count and half the village towards them. Hatsume was humming to herself on Izuku's shoulder as he came to a slow hault, wishing the earth would open up and swallow him. How was he going to explain this? Here he was, in his boxers and undershirt, carrying a practically naked girl over his shoulder, and they'd just blown up an entire field. How, he had no idea.
"Midoriya, what happened? Are there more undead? I'll destroy them, one hit!" Aqua swore as she hurried up. "What did they do to Hatsume? What made that explosion?"
"Midoriya! Midoriya put me down!" Hatsume suddenly demanded.
Reluctantly, Izuku lowered Hatsume to the ground. She was unable to stand though, collapsing against his chest and giggling to herself.
"That was not monsters," Megumin declared, her red eyes glowing in the dim light. "That was the magic of Explosion. Trust me, as the Mistress of Explosions, I can tell when someone is practicing."
"Did you like it?" Hatsume asked, grinning broadly. "It was my first one! Well, my first magic one. I make regular explosions all the time! Did you know it felt so good? I've never done anything that felt like that before!"
"We, er, um-" Izuku stammered, but then Count Blois ran up, sword drawn.
"Lord Midoriya! Lady Hatsume! What is going on? And why are you er, so…"
"We were making babies!" Hatsume said excitedly. "And then Izuku got tired, but I had him help me finish by pumping really hard! Then, when we were done making babies, we made a fantastic Explosion together!"
"Oh!" Blois said, going scarlet. He turned before Izuku could stammer out a better explanation. What he overheard Blois telling the villagers was enough to make Izuku feel like he was going to catch on fire from sheer embarrassment.
"...from the Divine realm, you see...not like mortals...release of divine energy...how they procreate, I believe…"
"Well, next time, just warn us OK. You woke me up with all your racket! And my head still hurts! Ugh, I'm going to need a lot of prayers to get over this hangover," Aqua complained.
Of course, Hatsume picked that time to finally pass out. Izuku ended up having to carry her back to the inn, his skin crawling with all the while from the looks the villagers were giving him. He managed to stagger up the stairs, and set Hatsume into a bed. He sat down on the bed himself, just long enough to catch his breath. He closed his eyes, just for a moment.
Aqua came in a few minutes later, tucking Izuku in next to Hatzume, both of them snoring loudly. "Sleep well," Aqua giggled. "Remember, the Axis Church supports all kinds of love! Even if it's two NEETs." Then she left, gently shutting the door behind her.
Authors Note:
Aqua: Hey, long time no see! It's been a while since I've heard from you, and wanted to reach out to you with a great opportunity! I've been working from the Divine Realm now and getting loads of money and XP as my own goddess! If you'd like, I can walk you through the simple steps to unlocking your own divinity! It just takes a little while and a small upfront payment!